UPI Trumps Visa In Just 9 Years, Is World’s Leading Real-Time Payment System Now

Last Updated:June 04, 2025, 18:00 IST

In May 2025, UPI transaction value was 12 times the combined total of all card payments, processing Rs 25 lakh crore in transactions during the month

India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has achieved a significant milestone, emerging as a leading digital payment platform within just nine years of its launch. Originally introduced as a cashless alternative, UPI has now surpassed Visa, one of the oldest and largest digital payment networks, in transaction volume. Its success has extended beyond India, with the platform being adopted in several countries worldwide.

UPI has now become the world’s largest retail real-time payment system. On June 1, it processed 64.4 crore transactions, and on June 2, this figure surpassed 65 crore. In comparison, Visa’s daily transaction volume in the financial year 2024 was 63.9 crore. Thus, UPI’s daily transactions have now exceeded those of Visa.

In May, UPI’s average daily transactions were 60.20 crore, rising to 67.4 crore in the March quarter. Earlier in May, daily transactions were around 63 crore, which later increased to 64–65 crore.

Four Times Faster Growth

UPI has not only surpassed Visa in transaction volume but is also growing at four times the rate. UPI’s monthly transaction growth stands at 5-7%, with an annual growth of 40%, compared to Visa’s 10% yearly growth. If this pace continues, UPI’s daily transactions are expected to overtake Visa’s within the next 2 to 3 months. The government has set a target to increase UPI’s daily transactions to 1 billion.

How Many Transactions Are Done Through MasterCard?

After Visa, MasterCard handles the highest number of transactions, with around 45 crore transactions per day. According to the latest Reserve Bank data, India’s share in global digital payments has reached 48.5%, a feat largely driven by UPI.

While UPI has surpassed both Visa and MasterCard in transaction volume, it leads by an even wider margin in terms of value. In May 2025, UPI transactions were 12 times higher in value than the combined total of all card transactions. During this period, transactions worth Rs 25 lakh crore were processed through UPI. In India, 85% of all digital transactions now take place via UPI.

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